The website, which can be found at mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk, contains hundreds of thousands of pieces of data providing an accessible, valuable information portal for parents and carers and those interested in school education statistics in Wales.

The site allows users to view a range of statistical information about an individual school, including:

* Contextual information such as the type of school, school population, how many teachers;

Leighton Andrews, minister for education and skills, said: “I encourage parents to support their local school.

“There are thousands of professionals in Wales who are dedicating all their working lives to provide an outstanding education for our children.

“It is natural that we all want the best for our young people and that we want to understand more about the schools they attend. The information can be used both to sing the praises of a school or challenge the performance.

“The information within MyLocalSchool can only point to areas of success and cast light on areas of improvement. It is the dedication of a highly-motivated, well-trained, well-equipped workforce, aspirational pupils and supportive parents that will help improve performance.

“A key to achievement is the encouragement, active support and involvement of those parents who engage in the education of our children that is needed to drive up the standards of our education system. I hope this site encourages parents to become more involved in the performance of schools.”

The site does not offer an option to compare schools on performance indicators, but does offer some information in terms of how the school is doing in comparison to Welsh and local averages, as well as compared to other similar schools around the country.